Processing visible coding sequence, playing visible coding sequence

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to data processing, and further the embodiments of the invention relate to a method of processing a visible coding sequence and a system thereof, a method of playing a visible coding sequence and a system thereof. The present invention creatively proposes a scheme of determining sampling rate with synchronized frames to realize effective processing of a visible coding sequence. The scheme of processing a visible coding sequence according to the invention is helpful for visible coding synchronization on the capturing side, enabling the capturing side to determine appropriate sampling rate and sampling timing, and thus effectively acquire the visible coding sequence, which may not only reduce resource waste, but also acquire a complete visible coding sequence.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments of the present invention generally relate to dataprocessing, and more specifically, to a method and system of processinga visible coding sequence as well as a method and system of visiblecoding sequence playing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Information transmission can be categorized into paper transmission andelectronic transmission in terms of transmission media. With thedevelopment of communication and network techniques, electronictransmission has a variety of derived forms, including network-dependentinformation transmission (e.g., WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth), andnetwork-independent information transmission (e.g., barcode,two-dimensional code scanning or the like). For network-dependentinformation transmission, network environment support is necessary.

For network-independent information transmission, although no networkenvironments are needed, they usually have relatively limited amounts oftransmitted information. Taking two-dimensional bar code as an example,two-dimensional bar code is graphic code which records data symbolinformation using interleaved black and white patterns of specialgeometric patterns distributing in a regular manner over a plane (in twodimensional directions). Currently, two-dimensional code has been widelyemployed in industry automatic identification, logistics industry,electronic ticketing, shops and other fields. There are many formatstandards for two-dimensional code, including Codebar, RSS-14 (allvariants), QR Code, Data Matrix, Aztec (‘beta’ quality), PDF 417(‘alpha’ quality), etc. A two-dimensional pattern encoded with PDF 417code has a maximum data capacity of 928 codewords. That is to say, eachtwo-dimensional code may proximately accommodate 1850 characters (in theextended alphanumeric compressed format), 1108 bytes (in thebinary/ASCII format), or 2710 numbers (in the digital compressionformat). However, the amount of information that can be carried on atwo-dimensional code pattern is still very limited. In order to providea method capable of transmitting two-dimensional code data having alarger amount of information, it has been disclosed in the prior art totransmit more information through successively playing a two-dimensionalcode sequence.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, continuously playing a two-dimensional code sequence requiresan image capturing device capable of sampling a two-dimensional codesequence intensively to ensure the acquisition of the completetwo-dimensional code sequence. To fully acquire each frame oftwo-dimensional code in a two-dimensional code sequence, samplingdensity must be set higher enough to ensure there is not any frame oftwo-dimensional code missed. If the image capturing device does not haveknowledge about the playing rate of the two-dimensional code sequence,it is difficult for the image capturing device to determine how to setits sampling density to prevent two-dimensional code frames from beingmissed. If the image capturing device always samples two-dimensionalcode frames with its highest sample density, resource wastes may caused,including processing resource and power wastes. For a camera device(especially, camera devices on mobile phones), electric energy cost isrestricted, thus it is desired to complete capture tasks as many aspossible with a minimum energy consumption.

The present invention inventively provides a solution of determiningsampling rate through synchronized frames to achieve effectiveprocessing of a visible coding sequence.

Particularly, a method of processing a visible coding sequence isprovided in the present invention, wherein the visible coding sequencecomprises a plurality of time-continuous frames including multiple dataframes and at least one synchronized frame, the method comprising:detecting the at least one synchronized frame contained in the visiblecoding sequence; calculating a sampling rate and a beginning time ofsampling according to the at least one synchronized frame; and capturingthe visible coding sequence according to the sampling rate and thebeginning time of sampling.

A method of playing a visible coding sequence is further provided in thepresent invention, comprising: encoding original data into a visiblecoding sequence, wherein the visible coding sequence comprises aplurality of time-continuous frames including multiple data frames;inserting synchronized frames in the visible coding sequence; andplaying the visible coding sequence to facilitate to process the visiblecoding sequence according to the method as described above.

A system of processing a visible coding sequence is further provided inthe present invention, wherein the visible coding sequence comprises aplurality of time-continuous frames including multiple data frames andat least one synchronized frame, the system comprising: a firstdetecting device configured to detect the at least one synchronizedframe contained in the visible coding sequence; a first calculatingdevice configured to calculate a sampling rate and a beginning time ofsampling according to the at least one synchronized frame; and acapturing device configured to capture the visible coding sequenceaccording to the sampling rate and the beginning time of sampling.

A system of playing a visible coding sequence is further provided in thepresent invention, comprising: an encoding device configured to encodeoriginal data into a visible coding sequence, wherein the visible codingsequence comprises a plurality of time-continuous frames includingmultiple data frames; a first inserting device configured to insertsynchronized frames in the visible coding sequence; and a playing deviceconfigured to play the visible coding sequence to facilitate to processthe visible coding sequence according to the system as described above.

The solution of processing a visible coding sequence provided in thepresent invention can facilitate visible coding synchronization on thecapturing side, so that an appropriate sampling rate and a samplingtiming can be determined on the capturing side to enable the capturingside to acquire the code sequence effectively, which may reduce resourcewastes (including processing resources and power resources wastes) whileguaranteeing the complete acquisition of the visible coding sequence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the presentdisclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects,features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent, wherein the same reference generally refers to the samecomponents in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 100 whichis applicable to implement the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2A shows a flowchart of a method of processing a visible codingsequence according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B shows a flowchart of a method of processing a visible codingsequence according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A shows a schematic diagram of synchronized frames according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B shows a schematic diagram of synchronized frames according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3C shows a schematic diagram of synchronized frames according tostill another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of playing a visible coding sequence of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5A shows a schematic diagram of a visible coding sequence accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B shows a schematic diagram of a visible coding sequence accordingto another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5C shows a schematic diagram of a visible coding sequence accordingto still another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A shows a block diagram of a system for processing a visiblecoding sequence according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B shows a block diagram of a system for processing a visiblecoding sequence according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a system for playing a visible codingsequence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Some preferable embodiments will be described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferableembodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated. However,the present disclosure can be implemented in various manners, and thusshould not be construed to be limited to the embodiments disclosedherein. On the contrary, those embodiments are provided for the thoroughand complete understanding of the present disclosure, and completelyconveying the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in theart.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary computer system 100 which is applicable toimplement the embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1,the computer system 100 may include: CPU (Central Process Unit) 101, RAM(Random Access Memory) 102, ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, System Bus 104,Hard Drive Controller 105, Keyboard Controller 106, Serial InterfaceController 107, Parallel Interface Controller 108, Display Controller109, Hard Drive 110, Keyboard 111, Serial Peripheral Equipment 112,Parallel Peripheral Equipment 113 and Display 114. Among above devices,CPU 101, RAM 102, ROM 103, Hard Drive Controller 105, KeyboardController 106, Serial Interface Controller 107, Parallel InterfaceController 108 and Display Controller 109 are coupled to the System Bus104. Hard Drive 110 is coupled to Hard Drive Controller 105. Keyboard111 is coupled to Keyboard Controller 106. Serial Peripheral Equipment112 is coupled to Serial Interface Controller 107. Parallel PeripheralEquipment 113 is coupled to Parallel Interface Controller 108. And,Display 114 is coupled to Display Controller 109. It should beunderstood that the structure as shown in FIG. 1 is only for theexemplary purpose rather than any limitation to the present invention.In some cases, some devices may be added to or removed from the computersystem 100 based on specific situations.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a method of processing a visible codingsequence of the present invention. The visible coding sequence comprisesa plurality of time-continuous frames including multiple data frames andat least one synchronized frame. The visible coding may be at least oneof: one-dimensional code, two-dimensional code, other visible coding.The two-dimensional code may comprise at least one of: white-blacktwo-dimensional code, color two-dimensional code. The data frame is usedfor carrying the information to be transmitted. The synchronized frameis used for the synchronization of visible coding sequences on theplaying side and capturing side.

The method of processing a visible coding sequence shown in FIG. 2Acomprises the following steps. At step 201, at least synchronized framecontained in the visible coding sequence is detected. At step 203, asampling rate and a beginning time of sampling are calculated accordingto the at least one synchronized frame. At step 205, the visible codingsequence is captured according to the sampling rate and the beginningtime of sampling.

At step 201, at least synchronized frame contained in the visible codingsequence is detected, wherein the detection can be performed throughsampling the visible coding sequence intensively. In the intensivesampling, a predetermined sampling rate which is high enough can be usedto capture the visible coding sequence. The sampling rate high enoughmay ensure that every frame can be sampled twice or above. According toan embodiment of the present invention, the synchronized frame comprisesat least one of: a white frame, a black frame. Due to the property to beeasy to be detected, black and white frames are suitable to be used assynchronized frames. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the at least one synchronized frame comprises at least ablack-to-white frames transition or a white-to-black frames transitionat its boundaries, for example, a sequence of black, white, blackframes, a sequence of white, black, white frames, a sequence of black,white, white, black frames, a sequence of white, black, black, whiteframes, etc. Taking a sequence of black, white, black frames as anexample, it comprises one black-to-white frames transition and onewhite-to-black frames transition, allowing more accurate synchronizedframe detection. Certainly, according to other embodiments of thepresent invention, the synchronized frame may also comprise a greenframe, a red frame, a blue frame, a half black half white frame orvarious other kinds of frames.

At step 203, a sampling rate and a beginning time of sampling arecalculated according to the at least one synchronized frame. Thesampling rate depends on the length of frames, and the beginning time ofsampling depends on a beginning time of a frame and a length of theframe. In an embodiment, each data frame is sampled once. If each dataframe is sampled only once, a data frame can be sampled at the middle ofits playing. For example, if a date frame is display for 0.1 s on thescreen, it can be sampled at a timing point of 0.05 s to improve theaccuracy of data sampling. In another embodiment, each data frame can besampled multiple times for the purpose of error correction. For example,if a data frame is displayed on the screen for 0.1 s, it can be sampledat 0.03 s and 0.07 s.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, step 201 furthercomprises detecting a step signal for the synchronized frame accordingto a change in voltage of a light sensing device, and determining thesynchronized frame according to the step signal. As to an imagecapturing device, the voltage of its light sensing device may vary withchanges in color of captured images. Generally, when a black object iscaptured, the voltage of the light sensing device will become low, whena white object is captured, the voltage of the light sensing device willbecome high, and for a color between black and white, the voltage of thelight sensing device will have an intermediate value. Because thevoltage of a light sensing device depends on its particular circuitdesign, correspondence between black and white objects and voltages ofthe light sensing device is not unchanged. Depending on a particularcircuit design, a varying trend reverse to the above example is alsopossible. It can be determined according to a change in the voltage ofthe light sensing device whether a step signal occurs for a black frameor a white frame, and thus the synchronized frame can be detected.Further, in this embodiment, step 203 further comprises calculating asampling rate according to the lengthTof the synchronized frame, andcalculating a beginning time of sampling according to the timing of thestep signal and the length T of the synchronized frame. For example, thesampling rate may be 1/T, the beginning time of sampling may be a timingT/2 after the beginning of the data frame. Certainly, the presentinvention is not limited to sample the data frame at T/2, and the dataframe can be sampled at T/3, T/4 and other timings. Below, steps 201 and203 of the above embodiment will be described in more detail with FIGS.3A-3C as an example.

Taking FIG. 3A as an example, the synchronized frame is a white frame.When a data frame in the visible coding sequence turns into a whiteframe, the voltage of the light sensing device changes to a high voltagevalue from an intermediate voltage value; when the visible codingsequence turns into a data frame from the white frame, the voltage ofthe light sensing device changes to an intermediate voltage value fromthe high voltage value. Because various light sensing devices may havedifferent circuit designs, they may have different high voltage values,low voltage values and intermediate voltage values. Therefore, thevoltage change of the light sensing device described in FIG. 3A ismerely illustrative. Further, because the voltage is an analog signal,in practical measurement, the voltage of the light sensing device variesgradually. There are two step signals in FIG. 3A, a step signal 11 and astep signal 12 respectively. The synchronized frame can be determinedthrough detecting step signals of the synchronization signal. Afterdetermining that the synchronized frame contains a frame, the length Tof the synchronized frame can be calculated, and then a sampling rate1/T is calculated. Assuming the timing of the step signal 11 as thetiming of the step signal, the beginning time of sampling may be thetiming of the step signal 11+1.5 T. Assuming the timing of the stepsignal 12 as the timing of the step signal, the beginning time ofsampling may be the timing of the step signal 12+0.5 T. Those skilled inthe art may understand that the beginning time of sampling may be atleast one of: the timing of the step signal 11+1.5 T+N×T, the timing ofthe step signal 12+0.5 T+N×T, wherein N is a natural number. That is tosay, the sampling can start at the N+1th data frame after thesynchronized frame.

Taking FIG. 3B as an example, the synchronized frame includes a whiteframe and a black frame. When a data frame in the visible codingsequence turns into a white frame, the voltage of the light sensingdevice changes to a high voltage from an intermediate voltage value;when the white frame in the visible coding sequence turns into a blackframe, the voltage of the light sensing device changes to a low voltagevalue from the high voltage value; when the black frame in the visiblecoding sequence turns into a data frame, the voltage of the lightsensing device changes to an intermediate voltage value from the lowvoltage value. There are three step signals in FIG. 3B, i.e., a stepsignal 21, a step signal 22, and a step signal 23. The inventors of thepresent invention further recognized that it is easier to detect thestep signal 22 than the step signals 21 and 23, because the step 22 hasa more significant transition therein (its voltage is changed from ahigh voltage to a low voltage) and thus unsusceptible to falsedetection. That is to say, the synchronized frame can be detected moreaccurately from a white-to-black frames transition and a black-to-whiteframes transition. In other words, a white-to-black frames transitionand a black-to-white frames transition are more liable to cause asignificant variation in the voltage of the light sensing device, sothat false detection resulted from smaller voltage variation magnitudesdue to outside environmental affects can be further reduced. Afterdetermining that the synchronized frame contains two frames, the length2 T of the synchronized frame can be calculated, and then a samplingrate 1/T is calculated. Assuming the timing of the step signal 21 as thetiming of the step signal, the beginning time of sampling may be thetiming of the step signal 21+2.5 T. Assuming the timing of the stepsignal 22 as the timing of the step signal, the beginning time ofsampling may be the timing of the step signal 22+1.5 T. Assuming thetiming of the step signal 23 as the timing of the step signal, thebeginning time of sampling may be the timing of the step signal 23+0.5T. Similarly, the sampling can start at the N+1th data frame after thesynchronized frame, wherein the N is a natural number.

Taking FIG. 3C as an example, the synchronized frame is a sequence of ablack frame, a white frame, and a black frame. There are four stepsignals in FIG. 3C, i.e., a step signal 31, a step signal 32, a stepsignal 33, and a step signal 34, respectively. Wherein, the step signals32 and 33 have more observable changes in voltage than the step signals31 and 34. The synchronized frame can be detected more accurately usingthe step signals 32 and 33. After determining that the synchronizedframe contains three frames, the length 3 T of the synchronized framecan be calculated, and then a sampling rate 1/T is calculated. Assumingthe timing of the step signal 31 as the timing of the step signal, thebeginning time of sampling may be the timing of the step signal 31+3.5T. Similarly, the timing of the step signal may be the timing of thestep signal 32, 33 or 34. Also, the sampling can start at the N+1th dataframe after the synchronized frame, wherein the N is a natural number.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, detecting theat least one synchronized frame contained in the visible coding sequenceat step 201 further comprises: detecting changes in brightness of thevisible coding sequence through image processing techniques DSP, andthen detecting the synchronized frame from the changes in brightness.Because image processing techniques belong to the prior art, how todetect black and white frames using image processing techniques will notbe described herein. In this embodiment, calculating the sampling rateand the beginning time of sampling according to the synchronized frameat step 203 further comprises: calculating the sampling rate accordingto the length of the synchronized frame, and calculating the beginningtime of sampling according to the boundary timing of the synchronizedframe and the length of the synchronized frame. For example, if thelength of the synchronized frame is T, the sampling rate may be 1/T. Theboundary timing of the synchronized frame may be one of: the beginningtime of the synchronized frame, the ending time of the synchronizedframe. If the synchronized frame comprises multiple frames, the boundarytiming of the synchronized frames may further comprise the beginningtime or ending time of at least one frame of the synchronized frames.Below, the embodiment will be described in more detail with FIGS. 3A-3Cas examples.

In FIG. 3A, it can be detected by using an image processing techniquethat the synchronized frame is a white frame. Then the sampling rate 1/Tis calculated according to the length T of the synchronized frame. Thebeginning time of sampling is at least one of: the timing of theboundary 11+1.5 T, the timing of the boundary 12+0.5 T, the timing ofthe boundary 11+1.5 T+N×T, the timing of the boundary 12+0.5 T+N×T,wherein N is a natural number.

In FIG. 3B, it can be detected by using an image processing techniquethat the synchronized frame is a white frame and a black frame. Then thesampling rate 1/T is calculated according to the length 2 T of thesynchronized frame. The beginning time of sampling is at least one of:the timing of the boundary 21+2.5 T, the timing of the boundary 22+1.5T, the timing of the boundary 23+0.5 T. Also the sampling can start atthe N+1th data frame after the synchronized frame, wherein N is anatural number.

In FIG. 3C, it can be detected by using an image processing techniquethat the synchronized frame is a sequence of a black frame, a whiteframe, and a black frame. Then the sampling rate 1/T is calculatedaccording to the length 3 T of the synchronized frame. The beginningtime of sampling is at least one of: the timing of the boundary 31+3.5T, the timing of the boundary 32+2.5 T, the timing of the boundary33+1.5 T, the timing of the boundary 34+0.5 T. Also, the sampling canstart at the N+1th data frame after the synchronized frame, wherein N isa natural number.

Returning to FIG. 2A, the visible coding sequence is captured accordingto the sampling rate and the beginning time of sampling at step 205.According to an embodiment, the capturing comprises at least one of:photographing, video recording, scanning Photographing can be completedusing a camera or a handhold mobile terminal having a camera function.Video recording can be completed using a video recorder or a handholdmobile terminal having a video recording function. The scanning can becompleted using a device having a scanning function (for example, an IRscanner).

With the method of processing a visible coding sequence of the presentinvention, frame playing rate during the playing of the visible codingsequence can be accurately mastered, so that information of data framescan be accurately acquired. When high intensity sampling of the visiblecoding sequence is performed without adopting the present invention, anextra reduplication removal process is required after sampling, i.e.,the removal of data frames that are sampled redundantly, power andprocessing resources may be unnecessarily wasted in the capturing.Therefore, the method of processing a visible coding sequence of thepresent invention can achieve accurate and effective data framecapturing, which may not only save costs, but also capture data framesin the visible coding sequence accurately, making it more feasible totransmit information through a visible coding sequence.

FIG. 2B shows a flowchart of a method of processing a visible codingsequence according to another embodiment of the present invention. Steps201, 203, 205 of FIG. 2B are identical to that of FIG. 2A, which willnot be repeated herein. Below, steps of FIG. 2B different to that ofFIG. 2A will be emphasized in the following description.

At step 207, it is determined whether the capturing of the visiblecoding sequence is complete. According to an embodiment of the presentinvention, step 207 further comprises performing a first decoding on thedata frames to acquire the length of the visible coding sequence;determining the time length of the capturing according to the length ofthe visible coding sequence; and determining whether the capturing ofthe visible coding sequence is complete according to the time length ofthe capturing. Data frames are in a format shown in table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Frame No. Length of visible coding sequence data

In table 1, the frame No. represents the serial number of a data framein a visible coding sequence. The length of visible coding sequencerepresents the number of frames in the visible coding sequence. Thevalue of the length of the visible coding sequence can be acquiredthrough performing a first decoding on data frames. Optionally, thefirst decoding may comprise decoding the complete data frame to acquirethe frame No., the length of visible coding sequence, and data.

Optionally, the first decoding may only decode the length of the visiblecoding sequence. For example, the length of the visible coding sequencecan be encoded in a fixed area of a visible coding, such as the upperleft corner of a two-dimensional code, so that only content in the upperleft corner of the two-dimensional code need to be decoded in the firstdecoding, and the length of the visible coding sequence can bedetermined in a higher speed without the need of decoding the completedata frame. Again, the length of the visible coding sequence can beencoded according to a encoding rule A, while data is encoded accordingto a encoding rule B. Encoding rules A and B may have differentcomplexities, for example, the encoding rule A is simpler, while theencoding rule B is more complex. Computing resources can be saved,because only the length of the visible coding sequence is decoded in thefirst decoding. Because the purpose of acquiring the length of thevisible coding sequence is to determine whether the capturing of thevisible coding sequence is complete, it is not necessary to decode thelength of the visible coding sequence and decode data concurrently.

In an example, the length of the visible coding sequence is insertedinto each data frame, such that the length of the visible codingsequence can be obtained regardless of which data frame is decoded. Inanother embodiment, the length of the visible coding sequence isinserted into only a part of data frames, such that the length of thevisible coding sequence can be obtained only through performing thefirst decoding on those data frames in which the length of the visiblecoding sequence is inserted.

In an example, if the length of the visible coding sequence is 1000, thecapturing time length may be 1000×T, wherein T is the length of a frame.In another example, if the capturing starts at the first data frameafter synchronized frames, the synchronized frames at the end arededucted from a total capturing length, for example, the capturinglength is 1000×T-M×T, wherein M is the number of frame in thesynchronized frames.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, determining whetherthe capturing of the visible coding sequence is complete at step 207further comprises: detecting flag frames in the visible coding sequence;and determining whether the capturing of the visible coding sequence iscomplete according to the detected flag frames.

In an example, the flag frames may comprise a beginning frame and anending frame of the visible coding sequence. Thus, the beginning time ofsampling of data frames is the beginning time of the flag frames. Inanother example, the flag frames may be inserted at arbitrary positionsin the visible coding sequence, and the completion of the capturing canbe determined when two flag frames have been detected. Also, in thisexample, the sampling time of data frame can start at any data frame.

In an example, the flag frames are frames having no data informationcarried thereon, such as one or more black frames, white frames, orframes with special patterns.

In another example, the flag frames are data frames containing specificflags, the frame structure of which is shown in table 2 below. Whether adata frame is a flag frame is determined from the special flag in thedata frame. In this example, data frame decoding is required to decodeat least the special flag for the determination.

TABLE 2 Frame No. Special flag data

According to another embodiment of the present invention, determiningwhether the capturing of the visible coding sequence is complete at step207 further comprises: detecting whether there are fails in the dataframes of the visible coding sequence that have been captured;re-capturing data frames having fails therein and being uncorrectable.The fails comprise failing to correctly capture data frames.Particularly, the fails comprise at least one of: capturing fails andframe missing. The capturing fails comprise situations wherein it isunable to correctly acquire the visible coding sequence due to errors inthe capturing, such as obscure images captured due to hand-shaking, partor all of at least one data frame omitted from being captured due to amovement of the capturing side, part or all of at least one data frameomitted from being captured due to obstructions of other objects andinsufficient light. The visible coding sequence usually has some errorcorrecting capability. Taking two-dimensional code as an example, theerror correcting capability is realized through partial informationduplication occurrences. For example, a line in a two-dimensional codemay have some information representing character information at otherpositions in addition to information of that line, so that informationmissing due to stains on the other lines can be corrected. However, datacorrection is impossible if a two-dimensional code has errors exceedinga threshold, and data frames need to be captured again. If the visiblecoding sequence is played in a looped manner, data frames can berecaptured in a next loop. This embodiment may ensure the timelyre-capturing of the failed data frames, and thus guaranteed dataintegrality of the captured visible coding sequence.

Frame missing comprises omission of at least one data frame during thecapturing, for example, accumulated errors may arise in calculation ofthe sampling rate and beginning time of sampling with the proceeding ofthe capturing, causing one or more data frames omitted from beingcaptured. Whether there are missing frames in the visible codingsequence can be determined according to the Frame No. in table 1 ortable 2 foregoing. Because missing frames are uncorrectable, thisembodiment may recapture those missing frames to ensure data integralityof the captured visible coding sequence.

At step 209 of FIG. 2B, a notification is sent in response to thecompletion of the capturing of the visible coding sequence. Sending thenotification can be realized through at least one of: notifyingcapturing completion through a light signal (such as a signal lamp),notifying capturing completion through an audio signal (such as aspecial music tone), notifying capturing completion through an imagesignal (such as displaying a specific image on the display screen of acamera device), notifying capturing completion through a text signal(such as, displaying special text on the display screen of a cameradevice), automatic finish of the capturing.

Steps 207 and 209 can realize the automatic notification to aphotographer of when the capturing is complete, so that the photographermay be aware of capturing progress, and does not need to monitor thecapturing in person.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the case oflacking steps 207 and 209, the photographer has to monitor thecompletion of the capturing on his own. For example, if the visiblecoding sequence is played in a looped manner, the photographer canmonitor on his own whether the visible coding sequence has been capturedcompleted according to a special indication. Again, if the visiblecoding sequence is not played in a looped manner, in response to one ormultiple rounds of playing upon pressing a play button by thephotographer, the photographer can determine capturing completionaccording to whether the playing has finished.

Optionally, a second decoding can be performed on the visible codingsequence at step 211 to restore original data in data frames of thevisible coding sequence. The second decoding may be the same as ordifferent to the first decoding described above. In an embodiment, ifdata frames contain frame serial numbers (shown in table 1 and table 2foregoing), sequential order of various data frames can be determinedaccording to the frame serial numbers in the second decoding. In anotherembodiment, if there are not frame serial numbers contained in the dataframes, every data frame from a beginning frame to an ending frame ofthe visible coding sequence can be sequentially captured based on thebeginning frame and the ending frame of the visible coding sequence inorder for the second decoding.

Optionally, white balance can be adjusted for the captured visiblecoding sequence according to RGB values (three primary colors) of thesynchronized frame at step 213. Further, adjusting white balancecomprises adjusting exposure amount and shutter speed used in capturing.Many current camera devices allow photographers to adjust white balancebefore capturing, such as selecting a night mode, a sunny mode, or acloudy mode, etc. Therefore, white balance can be adjusted for thecaptured visible coding sequence by using white balance adjustmentfunctions of existing camera devices to reflect actual colors that arecaptured, and avoid subsequent decoding errors due to color shift. Forinstance, in an ideal condition, the black color has RGB values of (0,0, 0), and the white color has RGB values of (255, 255, 255). If thecolor shift exists, for example, RGB values of the white color capturedmay change to (255, 255, 240), in order to compensate RGB values of thewhite color, RGB values of captured data frames can be compensatedaccording to the RGB values (255, 255, 240) of a white frame in thecaptured synchronized frames, to restore RGB values of the white colorcaptured to its original values (255, 255, 255). RGB values captured canbe corrected and compensated through adjusting shutter speed andexposure amount. Certainly, RGB values can be corrected and compensatedalso when there are green, red, blue, or half black half white framescontained in the synchronized frames. This embodiment may bring aboutremarkable effects if data frames are represented as colortwo-dimensional codes, because color two-dimensional codes may causeseverer color shift. Thus, performing white balance adjustment on thevisible coding sequence using the synchronized frames is particularlyuseful to prevent color aberrations due to color shift, and thus avoidsubsequent decoding errors.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, step 213 is performedbefore capturing data frames, because performing white balanceadjustment before capturing is of more help to prevent errors due tocolor shift. According to another embodiment of the present invention,step 213 can be performed after capturing data frames, such as afterstep 205 or 209. White balance can be adjusted for the visible codingsequence to a certain degree after capturing. Many existing imageprocessing tools can provide white balance adjustment functions, whichwill not be described in detail herein.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method of playing a visible codingsequence according to the present invention. At step 401, original datais encoded into a visible coding sequence, wherein the visible codingsequence comprises a plurality of time-continuous frames, includingmultiple data frames. Wherein, the original data may be one or more ofthe following items: text data, image data, audio data, video data,multimedia data, and other data that can be encoded. The presentinvention does not have any limits to encoding rules.

At step 403, synchronized frames are inserted into the visible codingsequence. According to an embodiment of the present invention,synchronized frames can be inserted into the visible coding sequenceonly once (the visible coding sequence has n data frames), as shown inFIG. 5A (The exemplary synchronized frames are illustrated by a blackframe, a white frame, and a black frame). Thus, a complete series ofsynchronized frames can be detected on the capturing side after waitingfor at most n+2 frames.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a visiblecoding sequence (the visible coding sequence has n data frames),synchronized frames can be inserted multiple times (the synchronizedframes that are inserted multiple times can be inserted discontinuously,for example, two times of synchronized frame insertion, one is beforethe first data frame, and the second is before the fifth data frame), asshown in FIG. 5B. Thus, a complete series of synchronized frames can bedetected after waiting for at most n-2 frames. Multi-time synchronizedframe insertion can achieve sampling rate and beginning time of samplingcalibration multiple times, such as, the sampling rate and the beginningtime of sampling are re-calculated every time when the synchronizedframes are detected, and a remained portion of the visible codingsequence is captured according to the newly calculated sampling rate andbeginning time of sampling. This embodiment is particularly useful forlong visible coding sequences, because longer visible coding sequencestend to cause larger accumulated errors in their originally calculatedsampling rate and beginning time of sampling. Thus, it is more desirableto insert synchronized frames in the visible coding sequence multipletimes to calibrate the sampling rate and the beginning time of sampling.

In order to further calibrate the sampling rate and the beginning timeof sampling, according to another embodiment of the present invention,in a visible coding sequence, a synchronized frame can be inserted forevery other data frame, as shown in FIG. 5C. Thus, the sampling rate andthe beginning time of sampling can be calibrated to the most degree.

Return back to FIG. 4, the visible coding sequence is played at step 405to facilitate to process the visible coding sequence according to themethod of processing a visible coding sequence described above.According to an embodiment of the present invention, the visible codingsequence can be played in a looped manner, so that the visible codingsequence can be captured and processed on the capturing side at anytime. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thevisible coding sequence can be played in response to a play instruction.For example, the play instruction may be a button, which when pressedcauses the play side to play the visible coding sequence. Also, the playinstruction may be a scheduled play instruction for starting the play ofthe visible coding sequence at a predefined timing.

With the method of playing a visible coding sequence of the presentinvention, information can be transmitted to the receiving side in theform of continuous data frames. Since synchronized frames are insertedinto the visible coding sequence, the information receiving side canaccurately recognize playing rate of frames in the visible codingsequence, and acquire data frames in the visible coding sequence in acostly economic way, so that power energy and processing resourcesrequired by the information receiving side can be reduced.

A method of processing a visible coding sequence and a method of playinga visible coding sequence of the present invention have been describedabove, a system of processing a visible coding sequence and a system ofplaying a visible coding sequence under the same inventive concept willbe described below with reference to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B and FIG. 7, inwhich the same or corresponding details have been particularly andcompletely described above, and will not be repeated hereinafter.

FIG. 6A shows a block diagram of a system of processing a visible codingsequence according to an embodiment of the present invention. Wherein,the visible coding sequence comprises a plurality of time-continuousframes, including multiple data frames and at least one synchronizedframe. The system of processing a visible coding sequence comprises: afirst detecting device configured to detect the at least onesynchronized frame contained in the visible coding sequence; a firstcalculating device configured to calculate a sampling rate and abeginning time of sampling according to the at least one synchronizedframe; and a capturing device configured to capture the visible codingsequence according to the sampling rate and the beginning time ofsampling.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least onesynchronized frame comprises at least one of: a white frame, a blackframe.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the at leastone synchronized frame comprises at least a black-to-white framestransition and a white-to-black frames transition.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first detectingdevice further comprises: a second detecting device configured to detecta step signal of the synchronized frame according to a voltage change ofa light sensing device, and a first determining device configured todetermine the synchronized frame through the step signal; and whereinthe first determining device further comprises: a second calculatingdevice configured to calculate the sampling rate according to the lengthof the synchronized frame, and calculate the beginning time of samplingaccording to the timing of the step signal and the length of thesynchronized frame.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the firstdetecting device further comprises: a third detecting device configuredto detect a brightness change in the visible coding sequence through animage processing technique, and a second determining device configuredto determine the synchronized frame through the brightness change; andwherein the first calculating device further comprises: a thirdcalculating device configured to calculate the sampling rate accordingto a length of the synchronized frame, and calculate the beginning timeof sampling according to the boundary timing of the synchronized frameand the length of the synchronized frame.

FIG. 6B shows a block diagram of a system of processing a visible codingsequence according to another embodiment of the present invention, inwhich the first detecting device, the first calculating device and thecapturing device are the same as those of FIG. 6A, which will not bedescribed repeatedly herein. Further, the system of FIG. 8B furthercomprises a first determining device, a notification device, a seconddecoding device, and an adjustment device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the firstdetermining device is configured to determine whether the capturing ofthe visible coding sequence has been completed; and the notificationdevice is configured to send a notification in response to completion ofthe capturing of the visible coding sequence.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the firstdetermining device further comprises: a first decoding device configuredto perform a first decoding on the data frames to acquire the length ofthe visible coding sequence; a third determining device configured todetermine a time length of the capturing according to the length of thevisible coding sequence; and a second determining device configured todetermine whether the capturing of the visible coding sequence hascompleted according to the time length of the capturing.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the firstdetermining device further comprises: a fourth detecting deviceconfigured to detect flag frames in the visible coding sequence; and athird determining device configured to determine whether the capturingof the visible coding sequence has completed according to the detectedflag frames.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the adjustmentdevice is configured to adjust white balance for the captured visiblecoding sequence according to RGB values of the synchronized frame.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second decodingdevice is configured to perform a second decoding on the visible codingsequence to restore original data from the data frames.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a system of playing a visible codingsequence. The system of playing a visible coding sequence in FIG. 7comprises: an encoding device configured to encode original data into avisible coding sequence, wherein the visible coding sequence comprises aplurality of time-continuous frames including multiple data frames; afirst inserting device configured to insert synchronized frames in thevisible coding sequence; and a playing device configured to play thevisible coding sequence to facilitate to process the visible codingsequence according to the system of processing a visible coding sequencedescribed above.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first insertingdevice further comprises at least one of: a second inserting deviceconfigured to insert a synchronized frame in the visible codingsequence; a third inserting device configured to insert multiplesynchronized frames in the visible coding sequence; a fourth insertingdevice configured to insert a synchronized frame between every otherdata frames in the visible coding sequence.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

1. A method of processing a visible coding sequence, wherein the visiblecoding sequence comprises a plurality of time-continuous framesincluding multiple data frames and at least one synchronized frame, themethod comprising: detecting the at least one synchronized framecontained in the visible coding sequence; calculating a sampling rateand a beginning time of sampling according to the at least onesynchronized frame; and capturing the visible coding sequence accordingto the sampling rate and the beginning time of sampling.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one synchronized framecomprises at least one of: a white frame, a black frame.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one synchronized framecomprises at least a black-to-white frames transition and awhite-to-black frames transition at its boundaries.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the detecting the at least onesynchronized frame contained in the visible coding sequence furthercomprises: detecting a step signal of the synchronized frame accordingto a voltage change of a light sensing device, and determining thesynchronized frame through the step signal; and wherein the calculatinga sampling rate and a beginning time of sampling according to the atleast one synchronized frame further comprises: calculating the samplingrate according to the length of the synchronized frame, and calculatingthe beginning time of sampling according to the timing of the stepsignal and the length of the synchronized frame.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the detecting the at least one synchronized framecontained in the visible coding sequence further comprises: detecting abrightness change in the visible coding sequence through an imageprocessing technique, and determining the synchronized frame through thebrightness change; and wherein the calculating a sampling rate and abeginning time of sampling according to the synchronized frame furthercomprises: calculating the sampling rate according to a length of thesynchronized frame, and calculating the beginning time of samplingaccording to the boundary timing of the synchronized frame and thelength of the synchronized frame.
 6. The method according to claim 1,wherein the method further comprises: determining whether the capturingof the visible coding sequence has been completed; and sending anotification in response to completion of the capturing of the visiblecoding sequence.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein thedetermining whether the capturing of the visible coding sequence hasbeen completed further comprises: performing a first decoding on thedata frames to acquire the length of the visible coding sequence;determining a time length of the capturing according to the length ofthe visible coding sequence; and determining whether the capturing ofthe visible coding sequence has completed according to the time lengthof the capturing. 8-13. (canceled)
 14. A system of processing a visiblecoding sequence, wherein the visible coding sequence comprises aplurality of time-continuous frames including multiple data frames andat least one synchronized frame, the system comprising: a firstdetecting device configured to detect the at least one synchronizedframe contained in the visible coding sequence; a first calculatingdevice configured to calculate a sampling rate and a beginning time ofsampling according to the at least one synchronized frame; and acapturing device configured to capture the visible coding sequenceaccording to the sampling rate and the beginning time of sampling. 15.The system according to claim 14, wherein the at least one synchronizedframe comprises at least one of: a white frame, a black frame.
 16. Thesystem according to claim 14, wherein the at least one synchronizedframe comprises at least a black-to-white frames transition and awhite-to-black frames transition at its boundaries.
 17. The systemaccording to claim 14, wherein the first detecting device furthercomprises: a second detecting device configured to detect a step signalof the synchronized frame according to a voltage change of a lightsensing device, and a first determining device configured to determinethe synchronized frame through the step signal; and wherein the firstdetermining device further comprises: a second calculating deviceconfigured to calculate the sampling rate according to the length of thesynchronized frame, and calculate the beginning time of samplingaccording to the timing of the step signal and the length of thesynchronized frame.
 18. The system according to claim 14, wherein thefirst detecting device further comprises: a third detecting deviceconfigured to detect a brightness change in the visible coding sequencethrough an image processing technique, and a second determining deviceconfigured to determine the synchronized frame through the brightnesschange; and wherein the first calculating device further comprises: athird calculating device configured to calculate the sampling rateaccording to a length of the synchronized frame, and calculate thebeginning time of sampling according to the boundary timing of thesynchronized frame and the length of the synchronized frame.
 19. Thesystem according to claim 14, further comprising: a first determiningdevice configured to determine whether the capturing of the visiblecoding sequence has been completed; and a notification device configuredto send a notification in response to completion of the capturing of thevisible coding sequence.
 20. The system according to claim 19, whereinthe first determining device further comprises: a first decoding deviceconfigured to perform a first decoding on the data frames to acquire thelength of the visible coding sequence; a third determining deviceconfigured to determine a time length of the capturing according to thelength of the visible coding sequence; and a second determining deviceconfigured to determine whether the capturing of the visible codingsequence has completed according to the time length of the capturing.21-26. (canceled)
 27. A computer program product stored on a computerreadable storage medium, which when executed by a processor, processes avisible coding sequence, wherein the visible coding sequence comprises aplurality of time-continuous frames including multiple data frames andat least one synchronized frame, the computer program product havingcomputer instructions to perform a method comprising: detecting the atleast one synchronized frame contained in the visible coding sequence;calculating a sampling rate and a beginning time of sampling accordingto the at least one synchronized frame; and capturing the visible codingsequence according to the sampling rate and the beginning time ofsampling.
 28. The computer program product according to claim 27,wherein the at least one synchronized frame comprises at least one of: awhite frame, a black frame.
 29. The computer program product accordingto claim 27, wherein the at least one synchronized frame comprises atleast a black-to-white frames transition and a white-to-black framestransition at its boundaries.
 30. The computer program product accordingto claim 27, wherein the detecting the at least one synchronized framecontained in the visible coding sequence further comprises: detecting astep signal of the synchronized frame according to a voltage change of alight sensing device, and determining the synchronized frame through thestep signal; and wherein the calculating a sampling rate and a beginningtime of sampling according to the at least one synchronized framefurther comprises: calculating the sampling rate according to the lengthof the synchronized frame, and calculating the beginning time ofsampling according to the timing of the step signal and the length ofthe synchronized frame.
 31. The computer program product according toclaim 27, wherein the detecting the at least one synchronized framecontained in the visible coding sequence further comprises: detecting abrightness change in the visible coding sequence through an imageprocessing technique, and determining the synchronized frame through thebrightness change; and wherein the calculating a sampling rate and abeginning time of sampling according to the synchronized frame furthercomprises: calculating the sampling rate according to a length of thesynchronized frame, and calculating the beginning time of samplingaccording to the boundary timing of the synchronized frame and thelength of the synchronized frame.
 32. The computer program productaccording to claim 27, wherein the method further comprises: determiningwhether the capturing of the visible coding sequence has been completed;and sending a notification in response to completion of the capturing ofthe visible coding sequence.